About

We are a traditional craft maker family from Padoli, Payyanur, Kerala and we make idols of deities in Bell Metal, Gold and Silver. We are one of the few Viswakarma families who still follow the family tradition of making crafts in metals for a living. This is a very tough profession and it requires lot of hard work, dedication and vast knowledge. We are happy to introduce you two popular craftsmen from Padoli who are well known for their traditional craft making skills and were decorated with many awards and honors.

Sri. Padoli Govindan Anthithiriyan

At 72 years of age he is the oldest craftsman in Padoli village who still makes crafts for a living. For Govindan work is worship and he finds immense happiness in making Idols of Gods mostly in Panchaloha (Mix of 5 Metals). He was introduced to crafts making by his late father Mr. Kelappan Karanavar who was also well known for making big cooking vessels popularly called as Vattalam in Kerala. Some of his master piece works are Lakshmi Idols, Nataraja Idols, Vishnu Idols, Ganpathi Idols and Deepasthamabam (dedicated a Deepasthambam lamp to Payyanur Subramanya Swami Temple on remembrance of his father). He is recognized by Kerala state and Govt of India for his crafts making skills and also received appreciations from many Temple Authorities on his work.

Mr. Vinod Kovval Padoli (Mobile +91-984-746-5626 / Email: VinodPadoli@gmail.com)

Mr. Vinod Padoli is younger son of Sri. Padoli Govindan Anthithiriyan and has Masters Degree in Information Technology from University of Kannur. He was employed in reputed IT companies in Bangalore and left that profession to continue the family tradition of making Idols in Brass and he has been facilitated with many state and national awards for his work. He was showcased in many new channels and leading news papers in Kerala. Some of his most famous sculpture works are Deshavatharam Lamp, Krishna Idols, Mahakali Idols, Saraswathi Idols, Muthappan, Thiruvappan and Temple Door Designs in Brass. His artistic work attracted buyers even from USA and France.

We manufacture all types of handicrafts in Bell Metal, Gold and Silver and our products are popular in south India. Our products range from Temple Idols to house hold items for regular use. All our products are carefully hand crafted and they have an identity of it’s own as no products are same since it is handmade. We do not use clone techniques to make copies of any products.

How we make Idols ?

We refer Vedas and Upanishads and use our artistic abilities and creativity to make handcrafted Idols. The creative ideas emerged in the minds of craftsmen are depicted on Wax first and then use natural tools to make intricate details in the design.

The wax model is then covered in four layers of clay and allowed to dry. This four layered mould is heated in a furnace to remove the wax, leaving cavity of the wax model. Then Melted Panchaloha metal is poured into the mould and it gets the shape of the wax model. After cooling minimum of 6 hours, the outer mould is broken and goes for final finishing work.

We use the same scale ratio used by the ancient god Viswakarma (the creator of universe) for making Idols. The scale is called Yeva and our charges are based on that. There are different Yeva scales suggested by Viswakarma for different deities and depending on the deities those measurements will be incorporated. For example the Yeva scale suggested for Idol Ganpathi cannot be applied to Mahavishnu Idols.

We welcome you to visit our workplace at Padoli Village in Payyanur to understand more about sculpting.